Today at 5pm, the legislature of Tompkins County is set to decide on a resolution that urges a constitutional amendment revoking corporate personhood.

According to the resolution, "The authors of (the Constitution) clearly intended 'people' and 'men' to refer to human beings who are citizens of the United States and not corporations or other entities." The document continues, saying, "The founders of our nation could never have anticipated the degree to which the wealth and technology available to corporations in America today have made it possible for a single corporation to drown out the voices of millions of people."

Corporate personhood has been a political issue for years now, with people for it saying it is protected by the 14th amendment and without it their rights would be limited, while those opposed say that it is an abuse of the Constitution relying on a legal fiction within the text.

The resolution comes from the Government Operations Committee, where it passed with a 3-1 vote. Legislators Mike Lane of Dryden, Pat Pryor of Lansing, and Peter Stein of the Town of Ithaca, voted in favor. Legislator Dooley Kiefer, of the Village of Lansing and Cayuga Heights, voted against. Pam Mackesey, of the City and Town of Ithaca, was excused.